Lindi Ortega
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Lindi Ortega

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“I listen to a lot of old, classic music, so there’s a main thread of old country in what I do,” Ortega says. “My hero is Johnny Cash. I do definitely know how I want things to sound. I know what I like and I know what I don’t like.”

Tin Star was released locally a few weeks ago and Ortega’s finally arrived for her inaugural Australian tour (stopping into The Toff In Town next Tuesday). The record is the rising country singer’s third LP in as many years and, much like both 2012’s Cigarettes and Truckstops and 2011’s Little Red Boots, Ortega’s authentic take on golden-era songwriting surpasses simply being a tribute. Evidently, country music isn’t her only reference point.  “I love old blues, I love old soul, I love classic rock, I love Motown,” she explains. “I feel like elements of those things creep into my music, too. I’m trying to make it a cohesive thing, [while having] all those different influences speak within the music.”

Ortega’s skillful genre-weaving is further enhanced by the record’s classic sonic warmth. Esteemed Nashville producer David Cobb (Jason Isbell, Sturgill Simpson) played a crucial role in realising the multi-faceted homage. “I love him, he’s a great person,” Ortega proclaims. “He’s so very musical and he’s got a respect for vintage gear. He loves vintage amps and ribbon mics and he uses a vintage console when he’s recording. I’m a huge fan of all the old-school recordings, there’s a tonality and sound to it that you just don’t get in modern recording. It’s really great to hook up with somebody who’s really familiar with that kind of equipment.”

Anyone attending one of Ortega’s Australian tour dates will get a rare opportunity to see her onstage alone, armed with just a big-bodied semi-acoustic. On record she’s customarily accompanied by a gusty full band, but Ortega’s never actually established a fixed lineup of backing musicians. She explains her preference for interacting with a range of players. “I love what different people bring to the songs and to the recordings. I love to get them in a room and play them my song bare bones on guitar and just say, ‘What do you hear when I play this?’ Usually their instincts for my music are really good, so I think it’s really interesting to see how different musicians interpret that.”

This endeavour to encourage spontaneity also applies to her method of tracking the recordings. “I’m a big fan of live off-the-floor recordings,” she says, “where you’re all in a room together and you can all see each other. As you’re playing there’s that sort of collective energy. I don’t really like the other way of recording where people do their little bit-parts and sometimes you don’t even meet. To me that’s a lot more sterilised. I like the organic way that it was done back in the day.”

Even though the current tour is Ortega’s first trip Down Under, she’s been consistently writing and releasing music since the turn of the 21st century. A string of independent releases were issued before gaining the support of Canada’s Last Gang Records in 2010. Two tears ago, Ortega relocated from her home of Toronto to Nashville and it’s since then that her fortunes have really started to flourish. However, boosting her profile wasn’t what motivated the move. “When I moved to Nashville I already had my team in place,” she says. “I had a record label, I had an agent – so I wasn’t out there searching for those people. It was really more of an inspirational/historical journey for me to go there and absorb the history of all my heroes that had gone through there.”

Interestingly, the lyrics of Tin Star’slead single/title track prompt speculation that Ortega’s entrance into the Tennessee capital hasn’t been completely rewarding. Lines such as, “Like an old tin star, I’m beat up and rusty/Lost in the shining stars of Nashville, Tennessee,” suggest she’s felt overwhelmed by the massive number of hopefuls toughing it out in the Country music mecca. “Some people don’t get that great success and that glory that they initially sought when they moved [to Nashville],” she concedes, “but they continue to keep playing weekly and keep going for it. It’s really a testament to their passion for music and their love for what they do and I find that more inspiring than anything. So I felt that I needed to write songs in tribute to that.”

Indeed, across Tin Star Ortega impressively channels the classic songwriting of her stylistic forebears, brushing aside any trifling concerns about fame or fortune. “You can’t let that stuff intimidate you,” she states. “If you live your life always comparing yourself to other people’s careers you lose sight of your own visions for things. I have goals that I set for myself and I go after them with tunnel vision. I’m inspired by people that I think are great and that I hope to be like some day, but I don’t get caught up in the competition of it.”  

 BY AUGUSTUS WELBY